Reorientation begins here and now

In choosing to dedicate this first issue of 2020 to reorientation back in January, I was going through my own personal retrospection. If 2019 was the year of identity, which still rings true, 2020 would continue with re-evaluation and discovery. Only in March did I realize how fitting this issue’s theme is on a global scale.

As the first half of 2020 comes to a close, we look back at the past six months with collective relief and hope that the months to come will be an up-hill journey. With a global pandemic exposing our economic vulnerabilities and a civil rights movement throwing us into social and emotional turmoil, that this year has kicked our collective butts is putting it mildly.

Without a problem, there is no opportunity for growth.

There are currently three major triggers reshaping our realities:

  • sustainability in form of environmental causes and activism (Fridays for Future and the likes)
  • social inequality (diversity in leadership, Black Lives Matter, the women’s movement and many others)
  • global economic disruption (consumerism, capitalism and co)

What these three have in common is reorientation. We need to rethink and redefine how we do, basically, everything. A global and collective reorientation lies ahead of us. It is now clearer than ever: Things are going to change. Not have to change, but are already changing. And brands are a key driver and shaper, what that new reality will look and feel like – in our daily lives, in our values, in our societies.

But how do we get started? With ourselves, by asking questions.

So here a list of questions that aim at kick-starting the reorientation process.

What do we contribute?

How have our core values changed? Where do we need to recalibrate? Why have they changed at all?

What are our top three learnings from the past three years (in a mission-vision sense)?

What does our brand footprint currently contribute?

What partnerships have we committed to in the past three years? What positive social and environmental impact did they have?

What results have our CSR commitments yielded?

What can our business achieve with a greater commitment to society? To the environment? To conscious capitalism?

Are we ready and willing to make the changes necessary to achieve this? Are we ready to invest time, funds and resources?

What benchmark have we set for ourselves? Is it still relevant for what we want to achiever for a better tomorrow?

How can we measure our impact, especially in terms of quality?

How ambitious do we need to be in achieving these goals?

What local ecosystems can we build and nurture?

What does conscious mean for us? And in that sense, what is our new form of success?

These are just a few starting points to set our intention. Feel free to deep-dive and elaborate collectively as a team.

Until the end of the year, I am dedicating my work to helping brands through their reorientation. Feel free to get in touch to find out more.